From 500ml bottle on 17/6/2012 (shared with Butz). Pours a very dark amber with a smallish head. Has a smooth fruity aroma with berries particularly prominent. The Scotch ale element is quite prominent in this, and there are distinctive dark fruit notes, along with some chocolate malt. Has a big, lingering hop bitterness, which is not unexpected given the Hopwired/#100 pedigree. Nice stuff.

A dark red, port-like in colour. There’s a real melting pot of aromas - caramel, booze, berries. The beer delivers as promised. It is creamy, quite a full body giving a good mouthfeel, and has the caramels of a scotch ale, booziness of a barleywine with some berries thrown in and the bitter hoppy finish of an IPA that lingers at the end. And yet it all comes together quite nicely.

Bottle. Almost black - but clear reddish amber with a light behind it - an inch of off white head lasts and laces. Aroma of grapes, gooseberries, bitter oranges, raisins, lychees, toffee, cocoa, smoke. Sounds like a mess, but it hangs together. Oily mouthfeel. Tastes as it smells - there’s an initial citrus and resin tanginess, then smokey toffee sweetness and fruit, then as bitterness asserts itself cocoa creeps in. Lingering fruity bitter finish. Just avoiding being a jumble of flavours would have been fairly impressive here - but this has real charm. Even the joke is good.

Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community.
Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings.
Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!